Who said Pakistanis are only fond of food and travel?
Pakistani men may compromise on anything (even food) but when it comes to cricket, no one can stop these people. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, both in terms of being played and being watched. One of the most preferred cricket format by Pakistanis is Twenty-Twenty format (T-20) because it finishes quicker than other formats and exhibits a higher level of entertainment.
Sometimes people wonder why most Pakistani men and some women are crazy for cricket. Perhaps one of the major reasons for this passion is the El Classico of Cricket, that is, Pakistan vs. India. As Pakistan and India are traditional rivals in this game, their games are fun to watch. Personally speaking, the real contest is of Indian batting and Pakistani bowling, the fields in which both countries excel. Fans of both sides want their country to win the match at any cost.
Sometimes, people go as far as saying, “Baaki jis marzi team se har jao, manzoor hai, lekin India se haarna bilkul manzoor nai hai.”
One of my cricket fanatic uncles say, “Jis din Pakistan India ka match ho na, us din har jaga chuti honi chahye.” Match day is an engaging occasion where everyone forgets their preference over the sports. Girls wear green and white outfits and make-up. Their facebook statuses are more emotional than those of boys. #PakistanZindabaad, #ILovePakistan and #BleedGreen are most commonly used hashtags. I once came across a hashtag #PakistanPaaindabaad. I wonder what that means. When Pakistan is winning, girls become more emotional and comments like “Dekha, main ne kaha tha na Pakistan jeete ga” and “Hum ne Pakistan ke lie bohat duaan kin thin; wo kese na jeetta” become common. On the other hand, when Pakistan is losing, and girls do not what to do, just start saying “Pata tha Pakistan ne haarna hai” and the best one: “Cricket hai hi bakwas. Time waste kia hum ne match dekh ke. Pata nai larkon ko kya maza aata hai cricket main.”
Another reason for admiring cricket is the classy and unique nature of the game itself. There are almost 40 types of shots identified by International Cricket Council (ICC). Most common types include drive, cut, hook, flick, pull and slog. Other than that, batsmen wear protection on almost all parts of their body while batting during the match. This gives a feeling of a warrior who is about to duel in the battlefiel d. Furthermore, Pakistanis love choke (fours) and chake (sixes). Whenever batsmen like Shahid Afridi come on field to bat, Pakistanis are eager to see the display of boundaries flying all around the field. Other than Lala, Misbah-ul-Haq was also fun to watch before his retirement. His unorthodox shots like the reverse sweep made his haters also say the words, “Misbah Chah gya hai yar.” When it comes to bowling, Pakistanis have their eyes on a new emerging star Yasir Shah, a leg break bowler who has displayed amazing and promising performance since his debut. In addition to Yasir, Wahab Riaz, a fast bowler, has also displayed outstanding bowling presentation in his previous matches. Both of these bowlers’ performances show that Pakistan’s future in cricket is in safe hands.
Another beauty of cricket in Pakistan is that there are a lot of people who actually play it. Weekends are considered to be perfect for playing. Cricket is played more on streets rather than in parks or grounds. The ball used is not hard ball. It is tape ball. It is a tennis ball wrapped by electric cables tape. Tape ball has to be played using tape ball bat, not hard ball bat. Sports shop keepers earn high levels of revenue just by selling tape ball bats, tennis balls and tapes. Some enthusiastic children play cricket using plastic bats and plastic or rubber balls. Cricket proofs to be a valuable time pass and source of exercise for most teens.
When people of Pakistan talk about cricket, they never exclude the list of achievements of Pakistan cricketers. One of the greatest achievements of Pakistan in cricket is Shoaib Akhtar’s fastest bowling figure, which is 161.3 km/h. Other than that, Misbah-ul-Haq holds the record of highest average among the batsmen who never scored a century in One Day International (ODI) matches. Other than that, he also holds the record of fastest 50 in test matches, which he fulfilled in just 21 balls and joint record with Sir Vivian Richards of fastest 100 in test matches in just 56 balls against Australia in 2014. Misbah is also considered to be most successful test captain for Pakistan. Furthermore, Shahid Afrdi holds the record of 2nd highest wicket-taker in an ODI innings, which was 7 wickets by conceding only 12 runs in 2013 against West Indies. Pakistan was the runner-up of first ever T-20 world cup held in South Africa in 2007, of which winners were India. However, Pakistan won the 2nd T-20 world cup held in England in 2009. Green shirts under Younis Khan defeated Sri Lanka in finals. In addition to that, Hasan Raza is the youngest player to join international cricket at the age of 14 in 1996. Some renowned names like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younas, Azhar Mahmood, Javed Miandad, Adbul Qadir and Saeed Anwar can never be forgotten because of their contributions for their country.
Finally, I would say that all Pakistanis should support cricket because there are potential players who can represent Pakistan internationally and they need a proper platform to start from. Government of Pakistan should support cricket and Pakistan Cricket Board so that talent in Pakistan could not be wasted. Pakistan can become masters of cricket world if cricketers start to work hard and Pakistani government starts supporting cricketers to desired level.
